Blood Will Tell
by clare009
Summary: Eric seeks to discover the truth about Sookie Stackhouse. Post Season 2.
1. Chapter 1

Blood will Tell

Dislcaimer: True Blood characters and universe are properties of Alan Ball. Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Neither condone or are responsible for the following. No money is being made from this.

Notes: Spoilers for Season 1 and 2 of True Blood. Possible spoilers for Books 1 - 9 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries as I have read them all and who knows what may seep out of my subconscious.

Chapter 1

"Do you love me, Sookie," he said.

She looked at him with wide eyes. "No," she said in all seriousness, "I love Bill."

"What about when I do this?" His hand trailed down between her breasts, over ridge of her sternum and across the flat planes of her stomach until it reached the junction between her legs. He slid his fingers down into the slippery wetness there.

She gasped.

"And this?" He dropped his head down to her breast and took her pink nipple into his mouth. His fangs grazed at the soft skin of her breast. She arched into him as he teased her nipple with his tongue. His fingers between her legs began to work their magic against her flesh: swirling, stroking and dipping in and out in rhythmic motions.

"Oh Eric..."

"You love it, don't you?" he asked between licks and suckles. "Say you love it, Sookie. Tell me you love what I do to you."

She groaned, her breaths coming more and more rapidly, her hands clutching at his hair.

"Tell me, Sookie," he growled. In a flash his hand was gone and replaced by the length of him. He leaned over her and teased her entrance with his warm, hard tip. With fangs bared and his intensity radiating from his face, he said, "Tell me what you love."

"Eric, please..."

He pressed into her, sliding home with ease, and pushed against the very base of her. She gasped. "Say it, Sookie." His voice became soft as he bent his head into the contours of her neck. He licked the spot he had chosen, making goose-flesh appear.

Her arms twined around him and she pressed him closer. She arched her neck and adjusted herself to give him better angles. He was so deep, he was going to split her in two. He pumped once, then twice and she let out a low moan. Her tension was nearing breaking point as her walls tightened around him. The feeling was unparalleled.

His motions reached a glorious rhythm and now it was his turn to groan into her neck. "Sookie, Sookie, Sookie..." he repeated the refrain with every stroke. Then, just as she clamped around him, just at the point where she broke apart, he raised his head one last time. "I love you, Sookie," he said. He buried his fangs deep into her neck and throbbed inside her with his release.

But, instead of a mouthful of her sweet blood, he only tasted dirt.

Eric spat what he could out of his mouth and tried to get his bearings. Of course, he had gone to ground before the sun rose and buried himself in the Bon Temps cemetery, the one located near Sookie's house. Now he was awake and shuddering from the after effects of the dream. For a moment he could do nothing but lie there, the ground pressing in on him from all sides, while the last aftershocks of the orgasm faded.

Fuck. What the fuck was that, he thought when his mind finally returned to him. He couldn't remember the last time he had dreamed of... anything, really, let alone sex.

Eric climbed out of the dirt and into the warm night air. He stretched and shook the soil from his hair and his long, lean body. The night smelled like decaying meat and burnt flesh - the stench was definitely coming from the direction of Sookie's house. The Maenad, Eric thought, the one Merlotte had come to him about, to bargain for his help . If he remembered correctly, she had taken up residence in Sookie's house. In a second he found the jeans and t-shirt he had stashed behind a tombstone and slipped into them. He hated to dress while he was full of dirt and loam - what he really needed was a good shower but somehow he doubted he'd find what he needed at Sookie's place, even though that's where he was headed.

He slunk through the night until he came to the dimly illuminated yard that belonged to Sookie's house.

The stench was overwhelming. It didn't bother him and scanning the yard, he quickly found its source.

Fucking Maenad, he thought as he looked at the edifice of rotting meat and other things that had been constructed in Sookie's yard. Some of it had already been destroyed and parts of the yard looked like a tornado had come through, but there was still a fair amount of clean up to take care of. Another sniff of the air told him that there were humans in residence but he was sure he would have smelled the Maenad if it was still about. No, his brief glimpse of the situation told him that somehow the residents of Bon Temps had managed to either run the Maenad off or dispatch of it entirely. He hoped it was the latter. He wasn't exactly eager to confront the bitch personally.

Eric strode up to the house and a quick glance through a window showed that the Maenad had created as much havoc inside as it had outside but someone had already begun to put the interior of the house to rights. He smiled to himself as he thought how pissed Sookie must have been to find that the creature had created a nest out of her home. He wondered how they had managed to take care of the problem. Sophie-Anne had not given him any information - and he had assumed that Bill had left with all her knowledge on the subject. Once again Compton had upstaged him but no matter, he had gleaned other, more intriguing information from his Queen that would set the balance of the scales to rights. Not that he had all the pieces of the puzzle quite yet. But that was why he was here, wasn't it?

His face settled into a smirk as he knocked loudly on the door. After a few moments, Sookie opened the door and greeted him as if she was expecting someone else. Swiftly the look of joy was replaced by consternation as took him in. "Eric," she said. "How nice of you to drop by." Her tone said it was anything but.

"Sookie, you look... edible." And she did. Her skin was scrubbed clean and pink, her hair swept up to emphasize the gleaming column of her neck and she was dressed in some frothy purple confection that only begged to be ripped to shreds so that every scrumptious inch of her skin could be admired and possibly tasted, too.

"Why, thank you." She gave him and odd look. "I am expecting company, so if it's not important, you can just shoo." She made a sweeping gesture with her hand that would have been offensive if it wasn't so ludicrous. You do realize that I am a thousand year old vampire, my dear, and I could sink my fangs into that neck of yours and drain your body its entire supply of blood in the instant that it takes you to blink? Obviously she didn't - or rather, she didn't care - and that's what made her so hard to put in a little box and label 'inconsequential human'.

"I see you've managed to get rid of your Maenad infestation," he said, locking his hands behind his back to keep from wanting to touch her inappropriately. Although it would have been fun to see how she would react if he did. Not in his favor, he thought regretfully.

"No thanks to you." Her hands were on her hips, now. "Sam told me that he asked you for help."

"Ah yes. And did Bill tell you that I ran into him trying to track down the information needed to get rid of your little problem? It appears we had the same idea. I figured your boyfriend would be able to handle issue himself - besides, he didn't seem to want my help." Several emotions flitted across her face, some of which were confusion, then resignation. When she wasn't thinking about it, she was an open book. He leaned forward a little. "May I come inside?"

She twisted to look at the state of the house behind her then shook her head. "Look, Eric, whatever it is that you want, now is not a good time. Bill and I... We have a date. He should be here any minute and..."

He nodded, understanding. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for Compton to find him here. It was too early in the game to play the ace up his sleeve. "Very well, Sookie, another time. You and I have things we need to discuss." She blushed a little at that and it made his eyebrow shoot up. He hadn't been trying to insinuate anything, however, this was intensely intriguing and equally promising. She had only had a drop of his blood, two at the most. Not enough to affect her that strongly, hardly enough for him to sense how she was feeling. But with her heightened color he felt the rush of an ache in his groin that wasn't completely his own. His fangs began to throb and it took every ounce of will to keep them sheathed. With an effort, he stepped back. "Don't forget to call Pam and give her your banking information so that we can transfer your payment for Dallas."

She nodded. He didn't wait for her to say good bye, but sped away faster than her eye could see to the periphery of her property. In a moment he had hidden himself and watched as she took a deep breath, then returned to the house, closing the door behind her. It was only a short while later that Compton showed up. Eric smiled as he watched the younger vampire knock on Sookie's door and present her with a bland arrangement of flowers. Compton was no match for this one, he thought. Bill was nothing but the spineless puppet of Sophie-Anne LeClerq and Sookie, once she understood this, would not tolerate him. But before he could lead her to the truth, he needed to discover a few truths of his own - for one, he wanted to find out exactly what game Sophie-Anne was playing at.

After an affectionate greeting, Bill lead Sookie down the steps of the porch to his vehicle. For a moment, Eric considered following them to their destination, but then he shrugged. It really didn't matter what they got up to tonight. He would set up his own appointment with Miss Stackhouse, perhaps on the pretense of paperwork required for her Dallas payment, and then he would pick her brain at leisure. As the car rumbled down the long drive, Eric shot up into the air. He planned his next move, and several moves after that, all the way back to Fangtasia. It always helped to be ahead of the game.


	2. Chapter 2

Dislcaimer: True Blood characters and universe are properties of Alan Ball. Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Neither condone or are responsible for the following. No money is being made from this.

Notes: Spoilers for Season 1 and 2 of True Blood. Definite spoilers for Books 1 - 3 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Possible ones for Books 4 - 9.

Thanks to harmony_bites for the beta!

Chapter 2

It had been a few hours since Eric had returned to Fangtasia, and he had yet to leave his office. He'd tried his best to ignore the constant flow of underlings requesting audience, but now Pam insisted on invading his privacy.

"You're hovering, Pam, what is it?" he said.

"It's Sookie," Pam said, handing him the phone.

A warm thread of satisfaction spread through him. He grabbed the phone and waved Pam out of the office, then he leaned back and put his feet up on the desk. "Well, well, Miss Stackhouse. I wasn't expecting you to call so soon. Are you ready for that little chat?"

"You son of a bitch, if you've done anything to harm him, I swear I'll string you up by your balls and shove a stake through that shriveled up thing you call a heart."

Eric raised his eyebrows. "Oh? You want to play a little rough, do you?" His tone was light but he could hear the tremor in her voice and the fluttering beat of her heart.

"I'm not playing games Eric. Tell me what you've done with Bill."

His mind sped in the silence that followed. Her rapid breaths beat against the phone, and he could imagine the little puffs of air against his ear. "Let us back track a little. For me to tell you what I've done with Bill would have to mean that I've done something with him in the first place, which I can't recall that I have. So, Sookie, you need to take a deep breath or do whatever you need to do to calm down and then tell me what has happened."

"Bill's been kidnapped. I need you to find him."

Eric sighed. Why should he care about Compton? But this was an opportunity to get into her good graces. "Start from the beginning."

It took her a few beats to settle down and then she relayed her story. Not long after Eric had left, Bill had shown up for their date and had taken her to a french restaurant. A really fancy place that he had hired out just for the two of them, apparently, but Eric didn't care for the elaborations. They had wined and dined, or rather she had wined and dined and Bill had watched her, and after he had "Popped The Question". A million things ran through his mind at the thought that Compton had asked Sookie to marry him, not all of which he wanted to examine that closely, and he let them go with a non-committal grunt so that she could finish the tale. What came out of the jumble of tearful words that followed was that Sookie had not exactly declined the proposal but hadn't exactly given Bill an absolute yes, either. She had been a little overwhelmed by it all and had taken herself to the ladies room to restore the after-effects and to try and think rationally about the situation.

"It's not that I don't love Bill, you see," she said, "but I'm confused about a lot of stuff. I'm still trying to find out who I am."

"Aren't we all," Eric said in an undertone.

"I beg your pardon?" Damn. She had heard him.

"I mean, we're all trying to discover who we are, Sookie - isn't that what life - or death as it may be - is all about?" Complete bullshit, but humans always ate that kind of stuff up.

"Sure, I guess, well that's what I told myself - or something like that. Anyway I decided I did want to marry Bill because..." She went on to tell him all her reasons, none of which made sense, but females of any persuasion hardly did to begin with. The reasons made sense to _her_ even if she was just kidding herself and that was what mattered. What also made little sense was Compton's motive. He had an inkling on that score but would need time to reflect on it later. Now she was coming down to the crux of the issue: she said, "And so I went back to tell him the news and he was gone. Just gone."

"And your first thought was that I had done something with him?" Did she really think him that devious and underhanded as to spirit away her potential fiance so that he could have his nefarious way with her? Well, he was, but that was beside the point.

"Well, not my first thought," she said, "but maybe my second or third."

At least she hadn't lost her sass. "As much as I would love to have been the one to abduct your boyfriend, I can, in all honesty say that I had not thought of it." Not quite the truth. He had thought of it, but not for reasons to do with _her_. His queen had wanted Bill silenced because of his knowledge of her foray into the vampire blood black-market. Abduction and a stern talking to, a.k.a. torture, would have been one of his previous methods of dealing with loose-lipped underlings. But he was an enlightened vampire and was willing to bet that blackmail would have been an easier, less messy, option. It seemed he would not find out any time soon if this was indeed the case. "Sookie, did you ever think that perhaps Bill, overcome with what could be construed as a rejection by you, simply walked off into the night?"

"Yes, Eric, that was thought seven or eight. However, do you really think Bill, feeling all rejected and such, would have arranged to make the place look like it had been hit by a small tornado? He was taken by surprise. Besides, when I walked in there, I could smell the burnt flesh - you don't forget that smell."

"Silver," he said. His levity had vanished. "So, it would appear that Bill has been taken."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you. And if it wasn't you, then who?"

Eric sifted through the facts and came to his conclusion at the same time as Sookie. "Lorena," they said in unison.

"That would make the most sense. She was his maker, she had been humiliated by him," Eric said.

"And she's a bitch," Sookie said.

"Hell hath no fury," Eric said.

"This is all your fault, and you know it. You'd better find him, Eric. Bill told me how you brought her to Dallas to mess with him. She's evil - who knows what she could be doing to him?"

"Oh, I may have some idea." He didn't really care. He may have instigated the whole matter, but Compton should never have defied his Maker. What happened to him was on his head. On the other hand, Compton was his responsibility. Queen Sophie-Anne had made that blatantly clear. If Compton spilled... Shit, shit, shit! Lorena was a loose agent - she had no affiliation to any king or queen. However, if she learned that Sophie-Anne was dealing in V, then she could either blackmail the Queen or sell what she knew to the highest bidder. And Bill was just so fucking dumb he would tell Lorena whatever he needed to in order to escape her claws. Sophie-Anne would have him by the balls if she ever found out that Compton was missing. He wasn't ready for that confrontation just yet. "We will need to act quickly, Sookie, if you ever want to see your boyfriend again."

He heard her stifled sob at the other end of the line. "What can I do?"

"For now? Nothing. Just go about your life as you normally would. I will send out my feelers and try to figure out where she has taken him. She may be an old vampire, but she's not the smartest one. She will have left a trail."

"I can't just sit and do nothing! I have my own talents - I could use them to help figure it out."

"Unless you've figured out how to read vampire minds, Sookie, I have no use for you as yet." She was silent. "And if you have found out how to read vampire minds, I think that's something I should know about."

"Don't be retarded, Eric."

"Very well. Do as I say. I will contact you when I have more information and a plan of action."

"But what if people ask me about Bill?"

He was starting to get annoyed. Bill this, Bill that. The only reason he was helping her was to save his own hide. "I don't know, Sookie - make something up. Tell them he went on vacation. Whatever you do, don't say that he's been kidnapped - we don't want word to get back to Lorena that we're on to her - it would only put him in more danger." Rather, he didn't want word getting back to Sophie-Anne. Who knew what spies she had planted about the place. "You haven't spoken to anyone else about this yet, have you?"

"No." she sniffed. "I didn't think the police would care."

And she thought he would?

"Fine, now be a good girl and run along," he said.

"Fuck you, Eric."

He smiled. "I wish you would."

He sat at his desk for a few moments after the conversation was over and let all the whole situation seep into his brain. Out of all the vampires in his area, Bill Compton had been the thorn in his side ever since he'd brought Sookie Stackhouse into Fangtasia. And now it appeared he would have to mount some sort of rescue attempt. Compton being gone would make things much easier for him. Who knew what comforting a grieving Sookie would lead to? But his game with Queen Sophie-Anne had him in a bind. He needed to find Bill and silence him - one way or another. The thought made him smile. He may yet find himself with a grieving Sookie to deal with.

"Pam," he called into the intercom. "We have an urgent matter to discuss."


	3. Chapter 3

**Dislcaimer:** True Blood characters and universe are properties of Alan Ball. Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Neither condone or are responsible for the following. No money is being made from this.

**Notes:** Spoilers for Season 1 and 2 of True Blood plus possible Spoilers for season 3. Definite spoilers for Books 1 - 3 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Possible ones for Books 4 – 9.

Thanks to harmony_bites for the beta!

**Chapter 3**

"Eric Northman, wake up. Sookie is in danger..."

The voice floated around him and penetrated into his consciousness. Eric's eyes snapped open. The clock on the table showed that it was around sunset, pretty close to the time he would usually rise. He sat up, blinking, and tried to recall what had woken him up so suddenly. Something about Sookie. Sookie was in danger? There was a lingering scent in the air that made him think of ripe peaches and the place between a woman's legs. That smell reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Was Sookie really in danger or was it a lingering dream? There was one way he could know. As he lay there, he opened up his inner senses and let them flow through his blood. He could count on one hand all those who currently had any trace of his blood and out of those only two of them were women. One was Pam, his child. The other was Sookie. Humans didn't understand how the blood worked. It wasn't like some magical GPS system or an internal twitter that updated him with her status. It was a bit like a tug somewhere in his gut that pulled him in a certain direction, so that he would know she was somewhere to the south and west, and the stronger the tug, the closer she was. And as for her feelings, well, that was more difficult to discern. He'd had centuries to hone that little skill and was good at sifting out which belonged to him and which didn't. He could tell, based on his knowledge of each one of them, what Pam felt or Lafayette or Bobby. And, he could feel Sookie very faintly - she was further away and had taken less blood than the others, only a drop or two. At the moment, he could feel her mixture of anxiety, guilt and sorrow. It was all that he had sensed from her since he'd spoken to her on the phone about Bill's disappearance two days ago. He snorted. She hardly felt like she was in any type of danger.

The sound of breathing caught his attention, and he looked over at the naked female that was spread out on the other side of his bed between black cotton sheets. She was that new dancer he'd hired at Fangtasia. What was her name? Her hair was a tangled mess and her lips looked bruised. He knew there were bite marks on the inside of her thigh. Had she spoken the words that had woken him? No, it must have been another dream.

Her eyes opened and she stretched. "Oh, hey baby," she said in a sleepy drawl, "you're awake."

"Don't call me baby," Eric said.

She became coy and reached for him. "I'm sorry, Master. Would you like me to repeat last night's performance? I know you loved how I danced for you."

Eric ignored her and stood up. Opening up the heavy drapes he looked through the tinted glass and saw that sun had already set but it was still light outside, that gray area between dusk and night that most vampires still avoided but which he loved. Dusk could still make him weak, but it was the closest he got to the sun. "I'm going to take a shower," he said to the girl behind him. "You must be gone by the time I get out."

"But Master..."

His fangs slid out and he whipped around and hissed at her.

Her eyes widened. She nodded.

Now that that little annoyance was dealt with, he stepped into the shower and let the warm water beat down on his cool skin. The niggling feeling that something was wrong with Sookie still lingered with him. Why couldn't he put it behind him? He could just give her a call and put the matter to rest. Besides, he had been meaning to update her on some of his findings about Bill's whereabouts. After his shower, he stepped back into his bedroom, towel wrapped around his waist, and reached for his blackberry. He called her house but the phone rang and rang.

Eric frowned, then realized she must be at work. He quickly pulled up the number for Merlottes. A female answered in a bored tone.

"I need to speak to Sookie Stackhouse," he said.

"Who are you?" the female said.

"It's none of your business who I am, just put her on the phone." Merlotte needed to hire staff with more courtesy than this woman.

"I'm not going to hand the phone over to her without knowing who this is. You could just be any old creep."

He gritted his teeth. "Fine. Tell Sookie it is I, Eric."

The woman snorted loudly into the phone. "You must be a vampire - the whole lot of you think you're so god dammed special, don't you?"

What was it with irritating females today? A million comebacks ran through his mind but he bit his tongue. He wasn't interested in sparring with this unknown harpy when all he wanted to do was to reassure himself about Sookie's well-being. "That may be," he said in an even tone, "now if you could hand the phone to Miss Stackhouse, I shall be in your debt."

"Whatever. But I ain't handing the phone over to her."

A low growl began to form at the base of his throat. He was tempted to go over to Merlottes and deal with this one personally. "And why not?"

"Because she ain't here, that's why."

He ended the call with a push of a button, it wasn't worth his time to question the harpy any further. He began to curse the fact that Sookie didn't have a cell phone. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, he examined his options further. He could rouse Lafayette and make him track her down - she was somewhere in the Bon Temps area, he knew that much. But, if she really was in any kind of danger, it would be better if he could be there himself. He could fly, but the trip at dusk would wear him out substantially, so he opted to take the corvette. A quick call to Pam let her know he would be late to the bar tonight and within minutes, he was on the road to Bon Temps.

Dusk was quickly fading to dark by the time he arrived at Sookie's house. The moon had risen early and only a few stars could be seen in the purple sky. There were lights on, he was relieved to see, which meant she must be home. Why hadn't she answered her phone? Slamming the door to the corvette, Eric strode up the porch steps and knocked loudly on the front door.

"Sookie, let me in," he said.

Moments later the door flew open, and she faced him with hands on hips and narrowed eyes. "It's about damn time, Eric. Have you found him? Where is he?"

Eric gritted his teeth. She was dressed in her Merlotte's uniform - too tight shorts and t-shirt that left little to anyone's imagination, let alone his. She also did not look like she was in the least bit of danger. He didn't know who he was more angry with - her for standing there like it was nothing special for him to show up at her house like this, or him for actually acting on some ridiculous premonition that she was in danger. Now half his evening was going to be wasted dealing with her little obsession with Compton. "I'm not going to say another word until you invite me in," he said.

"Be my guest," Sookie said, stepping aside for him.

Eric strode into the house and noticed that she had been busy. Most of the marks of the Maenad had been removed from her house, and floors and walls gleamed and smelled like cleaning solution. Some things would need the expertise of a handyman to repair, though, like the window that had been taped up with plastic. "Did you get the funds for your work in Dallas?"

"Yes, thank you," she said. "I had to pay property taxes and the driveway really needs some new gravel. It'll come in handy."

He inclined his head. She was always gracious. "We are certain it was Lorena who took Bill. We were able to pick up her trail quite easily - she didn't bother to hide it. The last thing we know is that they crossed state lines into Mississippi about 3 hours after Bill disappeared. It will be a little more tricky to track them into a different territory, but I have my people working on it."

Sookie nodded, taking time to let the information sink in. "And Bill was definitely with her?"

"Yes. There were witnesses along the route who identified both of them." He stood and watched as she came to the same conclusion that he had reached the previous evening.

"He went willingly," she said. Her expression was blank.

"We don't know that for certain, Sookie." It was a pretty damn good guess, however. If Compton was being forced in any way, the witnesses would have noticed something was off. "Perhaps she was able to compel him in some way."

"She had already released him from her as his maker. You know that. Is there another way she could have compelled a fellow vampire?" Her eyes pleaded with him to say that there was, but he couldn't lie to her.

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. It's not your fault, Sookie. If Bill decided that throwing his lot in with Lorena was the better option, then fuck him." He reached for her hand to try to offer some comfort, cold as it may be, but she snatched it away.

"No. You're not sorry." Her fists clenched and she rapidly blinked back tears. "You don't give a shit about Bill. I bet you're quite happy that he's out of the picture. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you set the whole thing up!" She stormed past him through the house and into the kitchen. He had no choice but to follow, and found her leaning over the sink with her eyes clenched shut and tears running out the corners.

If he was completely honest, he had been a little gleeful that Compton, for whatever reason, had not put up a fight and had gone willingly with Lorena. There may have been another reason though - he may have done it to protect Sookie. If Lorena had threatened her, Compton, who was the weaker vampire, may have been complicit in order to secure her safety. He could let Sookie think that Compton had deserted her because he felt jilted by her. It would be exactly what Compton deserved. But somehow he didn't think it was what she deserved.

"Sookie..." He reached out to her for a second time and laid a hand on her shoulder. She didn't move away, but surprised him by twisting around and burying her face in his shoulder. His arms closed around her and he held her while she cried. After a moment, he said, "Bill may have been trying to protect you."

"I know." Her words were muffled by his t-shirt. "But that doesn't make me feel any better. That just means I'm even more guilty for rejecting him." A fresh bout of tears soaked his chest.

"You didn't reject him." He reached between them to hold her left hand. "You wear his ring."

She lifted her head from his chest. "Eric, what if this is it? What if he never comes back?"

"We'll find him, Sookie. I promise. If Bill is what you want, then you shall have him." He swore to himself that he meant it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Dislcaimer:** True Blood characters and universe are properties of Alan Ball. Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Neither condone or are responsible for the following. No money is being made from this.

**Notes:** Spoilers for Season 1 and 2 of True Blood plus possible Spoilers for season 3. Definite spoilers for Books 1 - 3 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Possible ones for Books 4 – 9.

Thanks to harmony_bites for the beta!

**Chapter 4**

If he had been on his game, he would never have been taken by surprise. As it was, he reacted far too slowly when Sookie's back door crashed in and a man came barreling towards them, revolver in hand. If he'd been a second slower, it might have ended in disaster. Eric grabbed Sookie and pushed her behind him so he could face the attacker, then met the man in a head on collision.

They both tumbled to the floor. His first thought was to get the gun out of the way. He wasn't concerned about being shot himself - it would hurt, but even if the bullets were silver, he would still survive. Sookie, however, was human and a gun shot could be fatal. As he grappled with the man, he reached for the hand with the gun. He grabbed the man's arm and began to force it into a contorted position. The man was stronger than he first thought. He wasn't that big - kind of skinny - and shouldn't have been a match for a vampire. But, it took forever to twist the arm back to the breaking point. The other man grimaced with the pain Eric was inflicting and dropped his gun. Eric kicked the gun out of the way and it skittered across the kitchen floor.

The man growled at him, showing yellowed eyes. Hair sprouted along the man's arms and his hands lengthened into hideous paws.

Fuck. He hated weres.

That explained the extra strength his opponent had. Also, since it was the full moon it would mean the were was at his peak. Still, no match for Eric Northman, a thousand plus year old vampire and viking warrior. Eric looked the were in the eyes and grinned. There was nothing like a skirmish to heat the blood. It was almost as good as sex.

It was a pity that his adversary wasn't up to the challenge. The were was partially through the change, a human-wolf hybrid. Eric tried to keep the were's arm wrenched back with an arm bar, but lost his grip due to the fluidity of the limb. He ducked and narrowly missed a large paw with gleaming claws that swiped at his face. A few punches to the were's side subdued him and Eric was able to twist around and mount him. He used his superior strength to pin the man to the ground beneath him and finally bared his own fangs. The were strained upwards, exposing his neck, and Eric attacked. He sank his fangs directly into the jugular and fresh blood spurted down his throat.

Were blood was different. It didn't nourish and arouse like human blood or produce euphoric bliss like fae blood. It fed his strength like an electric jolt across his nerves, making his muscles twitch. It made him feel wild. He almost wanted to lift his head and howl about his success. If he hadn't been hungry, he probably wouldn't have taken more than a few drops. But he was starved. The dancer hadn't satisfied him the previous night and that had been his only attempt at a meal since his maker had met the sun.

The were blood didn't satisfy him either - it wasn't meant to - and he should have stopped, but he was angry. The were had threatened Sookie and deserved to be drained of every last drop and have his empty casing flung out with the trash to rot. He sank his fangs further into the were's neck and heard him try to scream. It came out as a gurgle.

The sound of gunfire brought him back and he lifted his head. He stared at Sookie over the limp body of the were. She was pale and shaking and she was pointing the gun at him.

"Eric," she said as her bottom lip trembled, "don't kill him."

He blinked. Sookie was frightened. Of him.

Standing up, Eric moved away from the were - he was no longer a threat - and wiped the blood from his mouth. It smeared across his forearm. He blinked at the light in the kitchen, which seemed brighter. Finally, he retracted his fangs. "You know that thing wouldn't stop me?" he said, pointing at the gun.

Sookie nodded. "I just wanted to get your attention."

"He wanted to hurt you," Eric said.

"I know. But we need to find out why."

Yes, of course. Even in her fear, she was able to think clearly. What she didn't say, but he knew she must be thinking, was 'Bill'. Eric shook his head to get the fog of battle out. "He's still alive, but I'm not sure about his ability to communicate." The were's throat had a raw and tattered bite mark that was leaking blood and he'd reverted back to his human form - a sign of weakness.

She hesitated before she said, "Could you heal him?"

Eric narrowed his eyes at her. If anyone else had suggested it, they'd soon be begging for mercy at his feet. She wouldn't know, couldn't know, how precious his blood was. He didn't give it to just anyone. Even Lafayette, who he had healed to get back into her good graces, had been given the gift for other reasons as well. Eric recognized in the human male his resourcefulness and wanted to bind Lafayette to himself. Bobby was good as his day time representative in legal human affairs. Lafayette would be just as good as his representative in illegal human affairs. Besides, she really didn't want to see a were on vampire blood. Only a few could tolerate it, but those who could... He shuddered at the thought.

She must have taken his expression as an answer because she said, "Forget it. Look - could you just watch him for a second. I'll be right back."

"He's not going anywhere, Sookie." He kicked the were in the ribs. "Are you?"

The were grunted in pain.

Sookie shook her head and left the kitchen. She returned a moment later with a pen and a notepad. "Sit him up a little, if he's able to."

Eric did what he could to get the were upright and shifted him against the kitchen cabinets for support. The were's blood left a trail across the floor and Eric noticed that Sookie's eyes glazed over a little at the sight. She shouldn't have to clean this up - he'd arrange for someone on his staff to take care of it later.

She pressed the pen into the were's hand and closed his fingers around it. "I know you're in pain," she said as gently as she could, "and I'm sorry about that, but we need to know why you're here. Do you think you could write it down for me?"

How could she be so 'gosh-darned' polite when the were had been out for her blood? "Tell us who sent you, or I'll finish the job I started," Eric said. His tone was icy.

The were began to shake. He raised his hand with the pen and put it up to the notepad that Sookie was holding for him. With an unsteady hand, he began to write.

After a moment, Sookie frowned. Her eyes flashed annoyance. She held up the pad and showed Eric what the were had written:

_Fuck you._

Suddenly, the were grabbed Sookie. He pressed the sharp point of the pen against her throat.

Sookie screamed and Eric reacted. His fangs snapped out and he lunged for the were, but the were pressed the pen firmly against her and created an indentation in her skin. His intent was clear: if Eric came any closer, the pen would pierce her skin and kill her.

"What do you want?" Eric said. His voice was a low growl.

The were motioned with his head: move back. When Eric was a safer distance away, the were stood, grunting with the pain and keeping a hold of Sookie as he did so. He stepped back towards the shattered remains of the door.

"You are weak, puppy," Eric said. "If you try to take her with you, know this: I will kill you, I will drain you, and then I will grind your bones to dust and scatter the dust across the ground for everyone to walk over over. You won't even hear me coming."

He knew from the were's eyes that he understood very well that Eric would do exactly what he said. When the were reached the door with Sookie, he stumbled back into a patch of moonlight. The light gave the were strength, and he flung Sookie at Eric with enough force to knock them both to the ground. They watched as the were completed his transformation to wolf and bounded off the back porch, across the yard and out into the trees.

For a moment, Eric clutched Sookie to him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, "but he got away." She struggled to get back to her feet. He slid out from under her and helped her up.

"A pity," he said. "We must move quickly. The were may yet die from loss of blood, but he may also make it back to his pack and lead them here."

Sookie bit her bottom lip. "Do you think they have something to do with Bill's disappearance?"

"It's not far-fetched to think so. Perhaps Lorena has made a deal with a were-pack for protection. Who knows?"

"But why now? If she wanted me, she could have taken me in the restaurant with Bill."

Eric looked at her. He had an idea of why and it would mean that Compton had given up something to Lorena, but not all. Sookie could be used as leverage if that was the case. "I'm not completely certain - and until we know more, I'm not willing to guess," he said to Sookie. He felt a twinge of guilt for not sharing all the facts with her, but she would be in so much more danger if she knew. The fact that they needed to find Bill was even more important now, and he wasn't sure Sookie would see it that way if he told her everything. "Go and pack a few clothes," he said. "I'm going to hunt around outside for any clues the were may have left, and then you're coming home with me."

Her hands landed on her hips and her eyebrows flew up. "Why on earth would I do that? I have friends I can stay with."

Eric rolled his eyes. "If you don't think the were-pack will be back sooner or later, then you're an idiot. They obviously know where you live and could probably track down your little friends, too. Not even I can hold off an entire pack, Sookie, so what makes you think you can?"

She looked away from him and he could see the way blinked that she was trying hard not to cry. The past few days must have been hard for her, and now to have to place her trust in him of all people...

He hesitated for a moment, then reached forward and lifted her chin up. "We're not going to be sitting ducks and wait for them to come to us, Sookie. We're going to formulate a plan. I have a contact that can help us track down the were's pack - this will make it a lot easier to for us to find Bill. You're going to have to trust me. We really do have the same goal here."

"How can I trust you, Eric, when I know you're hiding something from me?"

It was almost as if she had read his mind, earlier. "Yes," he said, "I'm hiding certain information from you for a very good reason. The chief being that your life would be in even more danger than it already is if you knew the whole of it. But, I promise you, Sookie, when this is over, and if you're ready to know it all - I will tell you everything. And I mean _everything_." His fingers traced a path down her neck, across the place where the were had held the pen to her throat.

She shivered a little and lowered her eyes. "It's a deal," she said, quietly.

He could feel the capitulation in his blood. She would trust him. For now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Dislcaimer:** True Blood characters and universe are properties of Alan Ball. Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Neither condone or are responsible for the following. No money is being made from this.

**Notes:** Spoilers for Season 1 and 2 of True Blood plus possible Spoilers for season 3. Definite spoilers for Books 1 - 3 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Possible ones for Books 4 – 10.

Thanks to harmony_bites for the beta!

A/N: This chapter is a little longer than the others to make up for the extra time it took. Of course, I did have to read 'Dead in the Family' in-between...

**Chapter 5**

At Sookie's request, they stopped at a drive-through on the way to Shreveport. Sometimes Eric forgot that she was just like every other human and had very human needs. The strange thing about Sookie was that she made him forget that she was human.

He kept glancing at her as they returned to the highway. She ate her burger with the same relish he had when he was fang deep in some girl's luscious veins. Some vampires were repulsed at the sight of a human eating - especially the dead flesh of animals - but Eric didn't care. It was a natural thing, a hunger that must be fed. Vampires had the same needs - only the type of sustenance was different. And humans didn't want to fuck cows.

Eric grinned to himself at the images he invoked.

"What are you so happy about?" Sookie said in between bites.

"I was thinking about the last time I ate human food." He was thinking about bending Sookie over the hood of his corvette.

She blinked. "You can do that? As a vampire?"

"No, of course not." He motioned with his hand over his stomach. "The whole digestion thing works differently for us. Food would make me ill. I was talking about when I was human." Her round, plump ass would fit neatly in the palms of his hands; her lovely, tanned skin would be a warm contrast to his cool, white fingers.

"Oh." Sookie was silent for a moment. "That was a long time ago - you actually remember that?"

He looked at her, his little fantasy had fled for the moment. "I remember everything, Sookie." He could almost see the gears in her head turning at the implications of his words.

"Is that a vampire thing?" She said. "You know, like the hyper speed or super hearing thing y'all have got going on."

Eric laughed. "You could call it my own special gift." Or curse, he added silently.

She nodded, and in that motion, and in that moment, he knew she understood him exactly. A thousand years may separate them, but she understood.

"So," she said, "do you have any other special gifts?" Her tone was light.

He turned to look at her and gave her a smirk. "I can fly."

Sookie rolled her eyes at him. "Now you're just bullshitting me."

Eric simply shrugged his shoulders and kept smiling to himself. He veered the car down the off-ramp and into the city. Sookie turned to look at the fluorescent lit streets they passed through. He turned into the parking lot of the strip mall where his club, Fangtasia, was located, and once he'd parked, they climbed out of the corvette. Grabbing the leather jacket he had found that had belonged to the Were from the back seat, he walked towards the back entrance of the bar.

It was still relatively early, and the bar crowd would be thin, which suited Eric's purposes. He had made a few phone calls along the drive and when they reached his office, Pam was already waiting for them. His child raised an eyebrow at his appearance.

"Don't you look a sight?" Pam said.

Eric grimaced. He'd managed to clean off some of the excess blood at Sookie's place, but he had refused to borrow one of the shirts Sookie had offered him which he could swear was Bill's. His front was still covered in blood and grime. Without saying a word, he threw the Were's jacket on top of his desk and stripped out of his shirt. Leaning over, he reached in one of the supply boxes that were stashed in the corner of his office. He pulled out a black and red Fangtasia t-shirt and was about to put it on when he felt a familiar pull in his groin. He turned with a grin to see Sookie quickly lower her eyes from his naked torso.

"Oh, like what you see, do you?" he said with a leer while he casually pulled the t-shirt over his head.

A blush spread over her cheeks. All that blood coming to the surface of her skin made his fangs ache. "I can admire," she said, raising her eyes to his in a challenge. "I'm not dead, am I?"

"I am," Pam said smoothly, "and I have no compunctions about admiring."

"Yeah well," Sookie said, "you really have no compunctions about anything, Pam."

"Thank you," Pam said with a toothy smile.

"As much as I enjoy invoking your pleasure ladies, we need to get down to business," Eric said. He found his chair and pulled it up in front of his desk. He motioned for Sookie and Pam to have a seat, then turned to Pam and said, "Were you able to get a hold of Hevereaux?"

"I was. At first he wasn't interested in our little problem, but when I reminded him that he owed us a favor, he became much more amenable. He should be joining us shortly," Pam said.

Sookie's eyes were wide. "Hevereaux as in 'Hevereaux and Son?' The big construction company?"

Pam turned to her. "Actually, it's the 'and Son' we're talking about. Eric was able to extricate his fiancee from a potentially life-threatening situation involving a 'v' dealer."

"That was nice of you, Eric," Sookie said without a trace of sarcasm.

"Not really," Eric said. "I was the one threatening her life. Alcide Hevereaux and I came to an agreement that if I spared her, he would owe me a favor. Now it's time for him to pay up."

"And what use would he be to us?" Sookie said.

Eric leaned back in his chair and stretched out his long limbs. "He will be of considerable use to us - he is a werewolf."

If Sookie's eyes could have popped out of her head they would have. "You're kidding me!"

Pam sighed and said, "Yes, it is rather unfortunate that such a fine specimen should be cursed in that way. His whole family are Weres. His sister is rather delicious, too, if I recall. Such a pity."

There was a knock at the door and Eric's head snapped in the direction of the sound. He could smell the human female who was standing behind the door and he cast a quick glance at Sookie. "Pam, take care of it, please," he said.

Pam inclined her head and went to do his bidding. "Yvetta," he heard Pam say to the woman, "the Master is conducting business. He will speak to you later - if he wants to." They exchanged a few more phrases before Pam shut the door and returned to her seat. "New girl," she said with a roll of her eyes. "Hasn't quite got the hang of the rules yet. I'm sure you've experienced the same thing when you've trained new staff at your place of employment, Sookie."

Sookie nodded politely. "Oh yes. I can't stand it when they get the lunch specials mixed up or can't remember what order the tables are numbered in."

Pam nodded. "And it's especially annoying when they don't understand that just because the boss has sex with you once, it doesn't mean he's now your 'BFF.'"

Throwing a cold look at Eric, Sookie said, "I'm sure I don't know anything about _that_. "

"Do you mean your boss hasn't required you to sleep with him from time to time?" Pam said with a straight face. Eric groaned inwardly - he knew he was the only one who could detect the hint of mockery in her tone, and that he was the only one who was meant to.

"It's not part of the job description - no." Sookie said. Her back had become as rigid as her tone.

"I could take Yvetta off your hands, Eric, if she becomes too bothersome," Pam said to him. "I'm sure I could overlook her more annoying qualities - she has such... perky assets. Although I know you've already sampled such assets quite voraciously."

"Pam, enough," Eric said.

Her eyes snapped at him. "I can understand spending the night with her - she's very tempting - but she mentioned something about spending the day..."

"I said enough, Pam." His tone was sufficient to make her hold her tongue but Sookie was a different story.

"She spent the day with you? Eric - are you out of your mind?" Sookie said. "You were defenseless! What if she had decided she wanted to set you on fire or something. That's incredibly stupid for a vampire, don't you think?"

"Sookie, really," he looked at her with amusement he didn't feel. He didn't want to think about why he'd asked the dancer to spend the day. He didn't want Sookie to know about the dreams, and how he had tried to ward them off. "Do you honestly think I've been around for this long without having some sense of self-preservation? She was very easy to glamor. She would rather have cut out her own heart before harming a hair on my body."

"Yes," Pam said. "But that still doesn't tell us why..."

He was saved by another knock. This time when Pam went to the door, she produced the tall, broad-shouldered form of Alcide Hevereaux, local business man, celebrity and werewolf. Eric rose to greet the Were and felt another familiar tug in his groin. He frowned - he certainly wasn't the one who was having lustful thoughts about Hevereaux - he hadn't swung that way in a few centuries. He raised his eyebrow slightly at Sookie who was openly staring at the Were with appreciation. For a woman, recently engaged, whose fiance was missing and most likely kidnapped and tortured, she certainly didn't have any issues about looking at other men. Not that he could blame her, really - monogamy was for old, wrinkled breathers. But at the same time, he felt another type of heat in his blood that wasn't of the good kind and that belonged completely to himself. If she were his, she wouldn't want to look at anyone else that way.

"Hevereaux," Eric said to the Were with an inclination of his head. Pam shot him a look as the undercurrents of hostility bled through into his tone.

"Northman," Hevereaux said, nodding back. "You summoned me here."

Eric could almost taste the tension in the air between them. Hevereaux didn't look like he wanted to be here any more than Eric wanted him to be here. But, this was business. "Yes. I know you've met my second, Pam. I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine. Sookie Stackhouse, this is Alcide Hevereaux."

Sookie bobbed her head at the large man. "How-de-do?" she said.

Hevereaux seemed to drink in the sight of her and then a smile split his tanned face for the first time since he had entered the room. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

"The pleasure is mine." Sookie returned his smile.

Hevereaux leaned in and unobtrusively breathed in her scent. Sookie had no idea what the Were was doing, but Eric knew that the Were could smell more than just her favorite soap, and that Alcide was probably already plotting how to get his paws on her.

Eric could feel the growl that began in the base of his stomac, and he had to quickly tramp it down before it escaped his throat. _She is mine,_ he wanted to say, but she wasn't. She was Bill's. And if Bill couldn't be around to defend her against other men, surely his job as Bill's sheriff would be to do the same? The lines were blurry. Who would be there to defend her against him?

"How is your fiancee, Alcide?" Pam asked in an off-hand way.

_Good old Pam_, thought Eric. Trust her to bring the moment crashing to the ground. He would have to give her a bonus for that.

Hevereaux jerked around to look at Pam, and his smile sickened slightly. "Ah, I'm afraid the engagement has been called off," he said.

"Oh dear," Pam said, . "What was it? Daddy didn't like Ms. Pelt? I can't imagine why..."

"That is none of your business, vampire," Alcide said. His voice was a low snarl and his fists were clenched.

Sookie stepped between them quickly and looked up at the Were. "Mr. Hevereaux, I'm truly grateful that you consented to help me and Eric out."

She had managed to diffuse the tension somewhat and Alcide relaxed his hands. He said, "I'm only here for Eric because I have a debt to him and I honor my debts. But you, Ms. Stackhouse, I would be glad to help in whatever way I can. Please call me Alcide."

"And call me Sookie - Ms. Stackhouse makes me think of my grandmother," Sookie said. "Now let's all sit down and be civil, shall we?" She threw looks at both Pam and Eric.

Pam merely smirked but settled back into her chair. Eric waited for Sookie and the Were to take their seats before he returned to his. He turned to Alcide and said, "Tonight, a man broke into Sookie's house in Bon Temps and tried to attack her. He had a gun. Unfortunately for him, I was visiting Sookie at the time. He was injured badly, but he got away."

"I'm sorry this happened, but what does this have to do with me?" Alcide said.

"The man was a Were."

Alcide sat back with gasp. "If one of ours tried to harm an innocent, we will make whatever reparations are necessary. I could arrange for trackers - we will find him and discipline him."

"The man was not one of your pack." Eric reached for the leather jacket that was lying on his desk and tossed it to Alcide. "Do you recognize this?"

Alcide opened up the jacket and traced the emblem that was stitched onto the back. He frowned as his fingers crossed over the yellow moon and black lines of a wolf's head stylized in profile across it. "Yes. This is a motorcycle gang based out of Jackson in Mississippi. They are also Weres. The pack-leader is a harsh but fair man, but some of the younger crew have a reputation for being unruly."

"Jackson!" Sookie said, sitting up straight. "Eric, you said that they crossed over into Mississippi - I'd bet money that we'd find them in Jackson."

"We lost their trail as soon as they crossed the border," Pam said. "And nobody over there is prepared to talk to us - and since the territory doesn't belong to us, we can't torture anyone to give us information - such a pity. It's been days. They could be anywhere by now, Sookie."

Sookie shook her head, her blond hair flying. "No, there's more going on here than just Lorena deciding to take Bill back. Somehow she was behind that Were attack, I'm certain of it." She turned to Eric and her expression changed to a plea. "I've never been able to read people who are shifters too good, and it must be the same for Weres, but I felt something, saw something - a flash - when we were dealing with that Were. When you attacked him, he was thinking about how much he hated vampires, and I got the impression that you weren't the first vampire he'd tangled with. I think he's seen Bill."

Sookie was started to show signs of distress. Her breathing was rapid and she kept fiddling with the ring on her left hand. "We've got to do something. Pam's right - it's been days - what if he's in real trouble? We need to go to Jackson and find out what those Weres know."

"What's going on here?" Alcide said. "My father and I have business dealings in Jackson, and I've socialized with some of the Jackson gang. Why would they have anything to do with vampires?"

Eric moved closer to Sookie but restrained himself from reaching out to take her hand. He wondered how much he should reveal to the Were. They were all such a close-knit group and he knew that Alcide would never betray any of his own pack-mates, but those of a different pack were fair game. Of course, there was always the age old tension between Weres and vampires that meant that Alcide would never be trustworthy. On the other hand, Alcide seemed to have taken at least a surface liking to Sookie. The woman had such an aura of innocent charm about her she automatically made any male want to protect her - even he wasn't immune to it. That, and the whole debt that the Were was so desperate to discharge, would probably buy Alcide's loyalty at least in the short-term.

"Very well," Eric said. "Sookie's fiance, Bill Compton, a vampire under my protection, was kidnapped by another vampire a few days ago." He explained to Alcide all they knew of Compton's disappearance and why the Were who attacked them was most likely tangled up with Lorena. "But the problem is that I dare not move in on Russell Eddington's territory - not even to question a gang of Weres."

Sookie frowned. "Who's Russell?"

Alcide was the one who answered her question. "He's the vampire King of Mississippi. I've actually met him a few times - we've done some construction work on one of his houses. I also know he's got close ties with the Weres of his community, unlike here," at that he gave Eric a pointed look, "and he often contracts them for added security."

"Wait a second," Sookie said, holding up her hand. "Did you say 'King'? There's a vampire King? You're kidding me, right?" She looked at Eric, then Pam.

Both vampires shrugged. "That's how it works. Quaint, isn't it?" Pam said. "Each state is a territory that is ruled by it's own King or Queen. We have absolutely no jurisdiction in Mississippi and could cause a political nightmare if we tried to do something there without Eddington's permission. Our own Queen will not be too happy if that were to happen, and believe me when I say that you don't want to see Sophie-Anne unhappy." Pam shivered.

"I'm surprised Bill never explained all this to you, Sookie," Eric said, his tone light but he knew that the hidden bite in his words hit home as Sookie's eyes flashed anger at him.

"He probably wanted to spare me the stupidity of it all," she said. "Well, that settles it then. If y'all can't do anything, then I'm going to have to go to Jackson and snoop around by myself. I bet that I can find the information we need to find Bill without raising any suspicions."

"Sookie, don't be stupid. They know who you are, that Were was sent to either harm you or kidnap you. And you said yourself that Were's are hard to read. I refuse to put you in that kind of danger," Eric said.

Sookie stood abruptly gave Eric a cold stare. "Don't you dare, Eric. Don't you dare pretend to care about what danger you put me in. You had no issues with it when you sent me to Dallas, and then allowed me to infiltrate the Fellowship of the Sun. This is no different, and you know it. I'll wear a disguise, I'll get in close - I'll get the information I need to save Bill. I'm going to Jackson, whether I have your help or not."

Alcide looked up at her and said, "Sookie, there may be a way that you could get close to those Weres, but how do you think you're going to get what you need out of them?"

She gave the Were a bleak smile. "I'm not exactly normal myself, Alcide. I'm a telepath. I read people's minds. Some are easier than others, and I often have to make some kind of physical contact with someone who can change into an animal to get any clear picture of what they're thinking. And of course, I can't read vampires at all - they're dead."

Alcide whistled and looked up at Sookie with a different kind of respect. Eric wondered what was going through the Were's mind and then seeing the look on Sookie's face turn to one of hope, he knew it wasn't good.

"You really can get me into the club?" she said.

Alcide whistled again. "You really can read minds." He turned to Eric and said, "There's a bar called Josephine's that Weres and other supes like to frequent in Jackson. It's strictly off-limit to humans unless they're accompanied by another supe. I could take Sookie there and pretend she's my new girlfriend."

Sookie clapped her hands together. "Yes! That's perfect. I'll pick the minds of everyone there - something is bound to turn up."

"I don't like it at all," Eric said with a growl. He didn't like it on so many levels.

"Well," Pam said, "it's not actually a bad idea. If tall, dark and Wolfy over here is willing to accompany her, then she shouldn't be in too much danger. I know the club Alcide mentioned - they have strict rules about violence on the premises. Even if she was recognized, she would be protected. And Sookie is a smart cookie - she'd be the first one to know if her cover was compromised."

Sookie beamed. "Why, thank you, Pam. You're not so bad, yourself."

"No. I will not allow it." Eric crossed his arms over his chest.

Sookie narrowed her eyes at him. "You have no say in this, buddy."

"Really Eric," Pam said, "I'm starting to think you don't want Bill to be found in the first place. Not that it would bother me one way or another..."

Eric sighed. Once again Pam had struck at the heart of the matter. Whether he liked it or not, Bill needed to be found - for all their sakes. If Sophie-Anne got even the slightest hint that Bill was in any position to compromise her... He really didn't want to think about that. "I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, as they say." He looked up at Sookie and tried to make her see how much he regretted having to put her in this situation again. "Pam is correct - this is the best plan we've got. If Alcide agrees to protect you, then I will concede."

He would send Sookie and Alcide to Jackson in the morning while he slept, powerless and unable to know whether or not she would be safe until it was time for the sun to set once again. Sookie was right, though. Not that long ago he hadn't been too concerned with letting her walk into danger if it suited his purposes. What had changed since then? 


	6. Chapter 6

**Dislcaimer:** True Blood characters and universe are properties of Alan Ball. Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Neither condone or are responsible for the following. No money is being made from this.

**Notes:** Spoilers for Season 1 and 2 of True Blood plus possible Spoilers for season 3. Definite spoilers for Books 1 - 3 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Possible ones for Books 4 – 10.

Thanks to harmony_bites for the beta!

Chapter 6

Tonight the dancer's blood had tasted like tar. In his office, he had bent the woman over his desk, needing to satisfy two types of hunger, but just as her blood had been as viscous and bitter as a cheap bottle of synthetic, the charms of her lithe body had done nothing to arouse him. He had used his fingers to give her pleasure in a mechanical way, as recompense for the puncture wounds his fangs had left on her shoulder, and then he had dismissed her to brood behind his desk.

He had sent Sookie home with Pam for the rest of the night, and now he regretted it. It should have been her on his desk with her legs up over his shoulders and his fangs buried in her neck just as he was buried in her sweet, tight warmth. He would thrill her and tease her and then bring her to the brink over and over before letting her soar. He would make her forget that Bill Compton ever existed.

She wanted him on some level - that much he knew. He could feel her need in his blood when she had looked at him earlier and it was pure lust. Sookie definitely lusted after him. He smirked to himself at that - what woman wouldn't lust after him? He was a powerful male. He was tall and strong, he owned several business in Shreveport, and he commanded the allegiances of many. What was Bill Compton to him?

Bill was her first love. It would be hard to top that.

But then there was the little discovery he had made while visiting the Queen not too long ago. 

_Ah, Sookie_, he thought, _what would you do if you discovered Bill's true nature?_

Surely she would sever her ties to Bill. But, would she want to stay clear of _all_ vampire connections as well?

_Would you blame me for your heartache?_

He had promised to tell her everything, but he didn't know if he could tell her this. He shouldn't care. Telling her shouldn't bother him, and he didn't know why it did.

Eric had known nothing of Bill's little mission to Bon Temps, and that was something else that bothered him. If the Queen was so intent on gaining this telepath for her collection, why not go through the usual channels? He was her sheriff in this area, after all. It didn't surprise him that the Queen didn't trust him. There was very little trust between most vampires. The only vampire that he trusted himself was Pam. He also knew that Sophie Anne was, on some level, afraid of him. He was older than her - stronger. But she was devious and held most of the cards. She must think that if he was able to hold any type of power over her, he would make a play for the throne. He had never shown her any such desire. She had no tolerance for insubordination, and the second he overstepped his bounds, he'd be stripped of everything he'd managed to build up in his small corner of Louisiana and relegated to fuck knew where. Which was why he had to be so careful when it came to Sookie and Bill and this whole fucking affair. He'd rather not discover what the weather was like in outer Mongolia this time of year.

But, there was something about Sookie. Why would she make the difference? Why would she be the one to tip the scales in his favor? Her gift was useful, absolutely, but it had it's limits. Now if she could read the minds of vampires, that would make her extremely desirable - and dangerous too. Sookie swore she couldn't, and either she was really, really good at lying or she was telling the truth. So what was it? And, why was Sophie Anne so adamant that he not drink Sookie's blood? She had said it in an off-hand way, but he knew an order when he heard it.

There was something about Sookie's blood.

The only one he knew of that had taken her blood was Bill.

Eric smiled to himself. Well then, he would just have to ask Bill about it when he found him.

The rest of the night he managed to occupy himself with the minutiae of running a business. It was an easy way to take his mind off something he knew wouldn't be resolved overnight. It also took his mind off the thought of Sookie curled up in the guest bed of Pam and Chow's suburban house while Pam kept watch. But once the night was over and he was forced to seek shelter inside a spare coffin in one of Fangtasia's lower level storage rooms, he couldn't keep the dreams at bay.

They were making love on the guest bed in Pam's house.

Sookie arched over him. She guided herself on top of him, then slid down. The walls of her vagina gripped his cock as he became buried inside her, and all he could do was hold on to the bed underneath him. As her hips began small, rhythmic circles around him, her hands moved over her body in undulating patterns; across her clavicles, over her breasts, down her stomach, dipping in between the place where they were joined, and back up again to repeat the cycle. He wanted desperately to touch every line her fingers traced across her skin, but he found he couldn't move. His arms were pinned to his sides. The agony increased along with the rate of her movements, and the tension mounted in his groin. He felt like he was going to burst.

His fangs slid out. They were painfully swollen points of need. Sookie arched low, bending her neck towards him, and he could see the lines of the delicate veins through which her blood flowed. Every beat of her heart was like the sound of a drum sending pounding vibrations from the points of his fangs and all the way down through to the head of his cock.

Her motions increased, and became one with the rhythm of her heart. He strained forward trying to reach the spot he'd marked on her neck as his own, but he could barely move an inch. She moved closer, his fangs scraped her throat, but he couldn't penetrate. His need was excruciating. Sookie moaned, lost in her own building ecstasy, and arched away from him. She had been within reach and now she was gone. He pounded his fist against he walls of his coffin in frustration. And just as Sookie cried out his name with her release, the dream dissolved around him and he woke.

Eric let out a howl. His cock was hard and painful, and his fangs throbbed unbearably. He used his hands to wrench open his coffin, and sprung out towards the door of the storage room. Something stopped him in his tracks. The room was lower level, with only a sliver of a window high up that was blacked out to keep the sunlight at bay, but he knew the access corridor had more windows that weren't covered up. He could feel the sunlight beating against the door.

He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and checked the time.

"Shit!"

It was only a couple of hours past dawn. He was wide awake, and still had several hours of daylight ahead of him.

Eric began to pace up and down the small area the storage room afforded him. Being an older vampire gave him better control over the daylight hours, and he was often able to stay awake long past dawn or rise early before sunset. Only during emergency situations had he ever woken so soon after starting his day-time sleep, and it had taken serious effort on the part of others to rouse him.

He shook his head. Whatever it was about her blood was affecting him in ways he had never thought it could. She was the one who had taken his blood, not the other way around, it shouldn't affect him at all. But she wasn't human, not really, not entirely - and she didn't know it. Somehow, her blood was affecting his. He was dreaming about her, dreaming about her blood, and now he was awake and stuck in the storage room of his own god dammed bar, and he couldn't even go upstairs to get a bottle of Tru Blood to quench some of his hunger.

Well, he supposed he could call Ginger down here with his cell phone and have her bring down a case, but in the mood he was in, the girl may not survive the trip.

What he needed to do was return to his coffin and go back to sleep. He was weary and he ached. The sleep of death would restore him, as it always did.

What he did, however, was the only thing he could think of. He scrolled through his contacts on his phone until he found her name, and within moments it was ringing.

"Hello," came Sookie's sleepy voice over the phone.

"Wake up, sweetheart. I thought you'd be on your way to Mississippi by now."

"No," she said, sounding confused. "Aclide was only going to pick me up around noon. What time is it anyway?"

He told her, and waited as he listened to the rustling of bedclothes and other noises as she got herself situated.

"What are you still doing up, Eric?"

"Hmm, that is a good question. Did you sleep well?"

He could hear her yawn. "Yes, I did, actually."

"Pleasant dreams?"

She went silent then said, "Eric, what the hell! Somehow you've been invading my head and you need to stop."

"I'm not doing anything, Sookie - what are you talking about?" He kept his voice level, even as he felt a tightening in his groin. Had she been going through the same experience he had been?

"I'm talking about ever since you tricked me into drinking your blood."

"Ah yes, that little moment. I cherish it still."

"Well, I do not. In fact I find it a clear invasion of privacy. I don't like it one bit."

"Is that how others feel when you read their minds?"

"That was uncalled for." Her tone was cold. He could feel how much he had upset her.

Eric sighed. "I'm sorry. Yes, that was uncalled for. Forgive me - I'm rather cranky this morning."

"You obviously need your sleep," she said.

"I was asleep, Sookie, but I woke up." He wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing in telling her, but who else could he tell? "It seems that my little experiment with you has backfired."

"What are you talking about, Eric."

"There are perhaps some things I should explain to you. When a human drinks the blood of a vampire, there are a wide variety of reactions to it, but the most common one is an increased, uh, sexual appetite."

"Yes, I know this already. Bill has explained this to me. He told me that after I drank your blood you would always know where I was and how I was feeling, and that I would feel sexually attracted to you."

Eric raised his eyebrow. "Really. He said that? Bill is a liar, Sookie." Now he could really feel how much he had pissed her off. "Let me explain before you shut me down. Bill was partly correct. My blood in your system does form a type of link. It lets me know in vague generalities which direction you are in and how close you are to my location. It also allows me to experience your emotional state - which I can say quite honestly is not very happy with me at this moment."

"You're damn right," Sookie said, "so talk fast."

"And of course you would have an increased sexual appetite, but since you've probably been on a steady diet of Bill Compton, you shouldn't have noticed the effects of that at all. But, of course, my blood is so much more potent that his."

"Eric..." There was a warning note in her voice.

"However, that type of increased appetite is generally non-specific. Can you imagine every V user fantasizing about fucking the vamp he just drained and murdered for blood?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Sookie, honestly, you should not have felt any kind of attraction towards me, specifically, at all, unless you were already..." He left the rest of it unspoken.

"Don't bullshit me Eric. I spoke to Lafayette. He drank your blood, and he's been having the same dreams that I have been. Well - not exactly the same - but pretty much in the same general tone, if you know what I mean."

"There is a difference. To you, I have only a line - a small thread - of connection. I drank Lafayette's blood and he drank mine. The connection between me and him is a complete circle. The dreams serve to cement his ties to me. Just as with you and Bill."

She was silent again and he knew she was trying to process everything he had told her.

"Do you understand what I am saying? Bill did not tell you the truth - or at least, not the complete truth. It is only when both parties exchange blood that the sexual need becomes more focused on each other. Otherwise it is simply a general increase in appetite."

"Oh God..." He could feel her misery seep through his blood. "If what you are telling me _is_ the truth, then how do I know? How should I know if my feelings for Bill are real? What if what I feel is just some fake emotion because of the blood that we've shared?"

The conversation wasn't going as he intended. He shook his head. "It doesn't matter, Sookie. I'm sure your feelings for Bill are real. The blood never creates feelings - it only amplifies them."

"But if my feelings for Bill _are_ real, if they're not a sham at all, then my feelings for..." She swallowed the rest of her words. "Oh God. Thank you Eric. Thank you so damn much. I really do hate you, you know that?"

"Yes, Sookie. I know you hate me very much."

She sighed. "I need to figure things out for myself. If y'all weren't so damned mysterious and... and... _silent_... I would never have gotten myself involved in this stuff. I think you need to go. Talking to you just messes with my head."

"Yes, I should get back to sleep." He yawned. Talking to her had helped. It had taken his mind off of other issues. Before he hung up, he said to her, "If it's any consolation, I don't like it when my dreams are invaded either."


	7. Chapter 7

**Dislcaimer:** True Blood characters and universe are properties of Alan Ball. Charlaine Harris owns the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Neither condone or are responsible for the following. No money is being made from this.

**EXTRA SPOILER WARNING:** I have been watching all the Season 3 teaser clips - several things will feature in this story.

**Notes:** Spoilers for Season 1 and 2 of True Blood plus Spoilers for season 3. Definite spoilers for Books 1 - 3 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Possible ones for Books 4 – 10.

Thanks to harmony_bites for the beta!

Chapter 7

"You look like shit," Pam said as she lounged against Eric's desk. She was inspecting her perfect nails, and her heavy lidded languor was starting to get on his nerves.

"Don't you have something better to do?" he said with a pointed look.

"If I did, I wouldn't be here, would I?" she said.

Eric slammed his hands against his desk and stood up. He began to pace up and down his office, while Pam watched him with a raised eyebrow. He stopped and turned towards her. "I should never have sent Sookie to Jackson with that animal."

Pam shrugged. "Short of chaining her up in the basement, I don't see how you could have stopped her. Besides, Alcide can handle himself - she will be safe."

"It's not her safety I'm worried about." For some reason, Alcide and Sookie alone together bugged him a hell of a lot more than Bill ever did.

"Ah. I did see how she looked at the Were. He is the epitome of classic virility. I would do him myself, but I wouldn't want to get my nails dirty." Pam smiled, her fangs peeking through. "But Eric, surely Sookie's virtue is Bill's concern - not yours."

"Yes, Pam, I want her to save herself for Bill Compton," Eric said with a scowl.

"Really, this little obsession of yours with Sookie Stackhouse is starting to become a bore." She yawned.

Eric gave his second in command a blistering look. "I am not obsessed. She is... different. She intrigues me - I want to find out what she is. And I also want to have sex with her,"-he shrugged-"and Compton's possessiveness merely serves to make it more of a challenge."

"Oh, please," Pam said, rolling her eyes. "Bill is no match for you."

Eric grinned. "Thank you, Pam. I trust that you are not simply practicing familial loyalty when you say that."

"However," Pam said, ignoring his comment, "Sookie's obsession with Bill is even more annoying than your obsession with her." Pam walked forward in mincing steps and sighed melodramatically. "Oh Beel," she said with an affected voice, "you are mah hero. I love you, Beel!"

"I agree, it is sickening. But she has had his blood." The thought made him grimace. _One day, soon, my blood will wipe out all trace of Bill Compton. _

"The blood only accentuates what is already there," Pam said. "There must be some underlying attraction - although god only knows why."

"It was his silence that drew her to him, initially."

"Really? Bill is a man of few words - positively dour if you ask me - some women might find that attractive although Sookie does not strike me as that type."

"No, I mean, his telepathic silence. He was the first vampire she ever met. She had a lifetime of not being able to shut others out of her head, and then he comes along and he's a closed book to her. It must have been quite a moment."

Pam nodded. "I suppose. If she'd been a little more adventurous, it might even have been you, first, or me," her fangs showed as she grinned, "but she never ventured into the bar until Bill brought her here. I certainly would have remembered her if she had. She has this compelling aura about her..."

"If I had known of her existence, you can be sure that Compton would not have been allowed anywhere near her. I believe his motives to be less than honest."

With a raised eyebrow, Pam leaned forward. "Oh, do tell. I love a good piece of gossip."

"When I was visiting the Queen, I discovered that one of Sophie-Anne's consorts is a human woman by the name of Hadley Hale. She appeared to take an interest in Sookie and Bill's relationship. I was able to corner her and glamor her without the Queen's knowledge. Apparently, Ms. Hale is Sookie's cousin."

Pam whistled. "I can see where this is going: Ms. Hale informs the Queen that she has a cousin with a unique ability, and the Queen dispatches one of her minions to investigate. It must have pretty handy that Bill Compton already had a built in excuse to visit Bon Temps."

"It doesn't explain everything, but yes, I believe that is what happened. What is more, I believe that Bill was given the job of binding Sookie to him, and thus to Sophie-Anne." Eric shook his head. "They have shared blood, and he has convinced her that she is in love with him. A silly human emotion, but enough to keep Sookie tied to him."

"Are they blood bound?" Pam asked.

Eric shook his head. "Not yet. I would know it. In Dallas I tricked her into drinking a little of my blood. They have exchanged several times and they are certainly linked, but Compton's blood is not strong enough to solidify the bond. I do not intend for that to ever happen."

"Indeed. If they were bound, you would have lost her already. She would belong irrevocably to Bill and therefore to Sophie-Anne. But what of the proposal? I don't understand why Compton would even bother."

Eric said, "I do believe that the marriage proposal was Compton's way of binding her to him at least superficially. I am guessing something must have spooked him to ask Sookie to marry him, otherwise he simply would have taken time to complete the blood bond."

"Perhaps Bill really does love her, as he says," Pam said with a grimace. "Or, it got his back up that Sookie's got your blood in her, now, so he decided to make this ineffectual statement of ownership. As if any vampire would care about human laws."

Eric gave Pam a sharp look. "Perhaps you're onto something there. That is just it. I do believe that Compton sincerely does love her. It may have started as an assignment but she means more to him now." He strode over to his desk, and dropped into his chair. Stretching out, he put his feet up on the desk, and crossed his long legs at the ankles. "It makes a twisted kind of sense. Since vampires have come out,s we have essentially agreed to comply with human laws. There are many among us who are very concerned with how we appear in that light. Compton was looking for refuge for him and Sookie under those laws because he knows that if anyone did anything to flout them, it would be a publicity nightmare."

"Why does he think that you would give a flying fuck about that? Even bad publicity would be excellent for us." Pam said.

Eric's mouth stretched into a wicked grin. "Oh no - Bill is not concerned about me. He's worried about someone in a greater position of power - someone who has a lot more to lose. Someone," he said as his grin widened, "who can't afford any type of scrutiny right now. He believes he can't run to me, so how else would he protect Sookie?"

Pam mouthed an 'Oh' just as there was a timid rap at the door. It opened a crack, and Ginger's head popped around the corner. She was more pale than usual.

"Master," she said, trembling, "Chow sent me to tell you. He said we have a guest - a royal guest. His wants you to get out there right now."

"Well, well," Eric said to Pam. "Speak of the Devil. We should probably go and see what she wants."

Pam shook her head and followed Eric as he strode out of the office. "This can't be good."

The bar was empty of patrons as it was still about an hour before opening time, and the staff had followed their instincts and taken themselves off to perform tasks that did not require them to be in the vicinity of Sophie-Ann LeClerq and her entourage. Eric wondered if they had decided that tonight was a good time to do inventory down in the basement. None of the humans in his employ knew who she was, but Sophie-Ann radiated enough power and menace that even the rats were probably taking refuge elsewhere. He made a mental note to tell Chow to cancel the appointment with the exterminator.

Chow was standing behind the bar looking stoic as usual. Eric nodded at him as he strode into the room.

The Queen stood in the center of the bar with her hands on her hips, and a look of distaste on her face. Her guards had been posted at every exit and Eric knew there would be more outside.

"Ah, Eric," she said, "so this is where you've been holing yourself up for the last couple of years. How very... quaint."

"It is not much, your majesty, but we are able to make a decent profit." The effort to be polite made his skin crawl.

"Whatever. I didn't come here to chit chat. The Magister is on his way - he'll be here in about ten minutes or so." She whirled to face Eric. "You'd better make sure you get your facts correct when he questions you."

Eric blinked slowly. He could feel Pam sidle up next to him, and Chow wasn't far behind. None of the others were here yet, but he'd make sure someone got text messages out to warn them not to enter. The bar would be closed tonight. "What facts are those, your Majesty?"

Sophie-Anne smiled, but her expression was colder than ice. "Don't play games with me. We know how you really make your money, Northman. Your little scheme to sell vampire blood has been discovered. If it were just me, I might be willing to let you off with a rap on the knuckles and a small fine. The Magister, however, will have different ideas." She walked over to Eric and ran her fingers across the smooth skin of his bicep. "Let's just say that he is extremely pissed off."

Her cold touch made his insides turn. Some people considered her a great beauty. Eric thought she was a psychopath, but, that was merely her way of dealing with the monotonous march of years. He returned her smile with as much warmth as she had given him. "I am most humbly contrite, my Queen. I will take full responsibility for _my_ little transgression."

"And perhaps while you're at it, you could figure out how the Magister could have possibly found out about your illegal activities before I knew anything about them. I was highly embarrassed to learn about it directly from him." Her hand curled around his arm, and her nails bit into his flesh.

Eric didn't feel the pain, but the blood that she drew was humiliating. However, he needed to keep his cool - Sophie-Anne could order a massacre if she chose. Even though he was strong, and he had Pam and Chow to back him up, he would still be outnumbered. Their deaths would be pointless. "Your Majesty, I believe that Bill Compton is the traitor. He has recently disappeared. He had some knowledge of the scheme, but was not aware of the extent of it. I have set in motion plans to recover him as I believe him to have been kidnapped."

"You were supposed to have taken care of Compton personally," Sophie-Anne said with a hiss. Her composure was slipping, and her eyes held a slightly wild look.

"Compton was snatched before I had a chance to get to him. I will get him back for you, my Queen."

"Let him rot! He's no longer important. And after the Magister is through with you, Northman, we'll see what use I have left for you."

Eric didn't flinch at her biting words. He knew he was as expendable to the Queen as her bodyguards and human consorts were. After hurricane Katrina, her finances had been in serious jeopardy. Her venture into the V trade was just another in a long line of schemes to recover her situation. Eric had done whatever it was she commanded of him in this regard, because he knew that the rulers of the surrounding kingdoms were gathering around Louisiana like vultures around a fresh corpse. If something wasn't done soon to solidify Sophie-Anne's power base, she would be ousted before she could blink. Not that he cared about her, personally, but as they say: better the devil you know. And he had been plotting against her for a while, now, so it would be a shame to have to start from scratch with someone new. He gave her a short bow. "Of course, my Queen. If I may offer a suggestion - I shall send my second in command, Pam, to wrap up any loose ends with Mr. Compton. I believe that his human, Sookie Stackhouse, has taken it upon herself to find him."

His words had their desired effect. He could see the small muscle under Sophie-Anne's eye begin to twitch. She dropped her hand from his arm as if it had burned her. She turned to focus her stare on Pam. "You are her maker, are you not?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Pam will stay here and take the Magister's punishment. You will find Sookie Stackhouse and clean up Compton's mess." Her mouth curved into a smile. "And when you are done, Northman, you will bring Sookie to meet me. Bill never did."

Eric shot a look at Pam and was about to protest, but Pam shook her head. She stepped forward, and bowed deeply to the Queen. "Your Majesty, it would be my honor to take whatever punishment my master has incurred."

Sophie-Anne nodded. "You might even enjoy it." She turned to Eric. "You'd better take a back way out of here. I wouldn't want the Magister to accidentally bump into you before you left."

Things were moving along too quickly for his liking. He turned to Pam and gave her a look that he hoped conveyed what he was thinking. She needed to avoid any reference to Sophie-Anne's involvement, and she certainly needed to keep her mouth shut about where he was headed. And of course, she absolutely could not mention Sookie Stackhouse. He had already made that mistake once. But also, he wanted to run his hand through her hair, and tell her how proud he was of her and how much he depended on her. She would only roll her eyes and make some sarcastic comment if he did. He didn't really need to tell her - she knew it anyway.

Instead he turned to the Queen and inclined his head. Then, he strode out of the bar through the back and into the staff parking lot. The air was crisp and slightly cool, the night sky up above was clear - the earlier rain clouds had long since dissipated with only the fine film of damp that covered the tarmac remaining as evidence that they had existed. The stars were dulled by the bright orb of the moon in the sky. Eric looked up at the moon - it was swollen and obese, proud in its fullness.

"Fuck!"

He had forgotten about the damn moon. Tonight was the second night of the full moon - the moon triumphant, as the Weres called it. It was when the moon's power was at its most aggressive. Somehow he had allowed Sookie to wander into a werewolf trap on this night of all nights. Eric shot into the air without a second thought. At his speed, he would reach Jackson in no time at all, and hopefully intercept Sookie before she could follow through with the plan to infiltrate the supe bar full of Weres. He really didn't give a shit about Bill Compton now that the information he wanted to protect had been leaked, but Sookie was another matter. He had to remove her from the situation, and then deal with Compton once and for all.

As the air rushing by him was heated by his motion, Eric wondered what he would do with Sookie once Compton was out of the picture. The Queen wanted to meet her, of course, but suddenly he decided that the Queen could go fuck herself. If there was one thing that Bill had got right, it was to keep Sookie away from Sophie-Anne LeClerq. Eric vowed to himself that he would do the same.


End file.
